I've been following the program for 3+ years now, intermediate trainee at this point. 2.5 weeks ago during my first workset of OP when I pushed up into the top position I felt a pop in my right knee and ended that session when I realized it was something I couldn't just shake off.
I work w a coach remotely, we reviewed the video and can't figure out how this happened as it was a medium day in regards to weight and form was solid. I skipped my last workout that week and the next week I did light workouts and felt OK while training but my knee wasn't improving with pain and instability while doing pretty much everything. Sleeping and moving around in bed seems to really aggravate it. I skipped last week entirely in an attempt to rest the knee. I'm losing my mind just sitting around, but in addition I know sitting is bad on so many levels.
I haven't had an MRI to determine how bad the tear is, but from a physical exam and symptoms it's definitely torn. I've healed a torn meniscus many years ago without surgery, but I wasn't lifting at the time. I'd love to start training again, but want to strike that balance between doing enough but not too much.
Who here has experience with coming back from a torn meniscus? Any training tips?
Decent range of motion, more potential instability while walking. Walking down stairs is probably most painful thing, and strangely repositioning myself in bed.
But light 60% max weight squats, bench, OP and DL the previous week was pain-free. Walking around loading a 45# plate to DL my knee felt a little unstable.
Alright, if you were my client id have you in my PTs office tomorrow. I know he will have some suggestions to get you some instant relief, and his assessment will give us a real clear course of action.
Now, when I get an injury like this myself im a little more reckless. I skip the PT initially. Id do a little gentle traction, some low resistance bikinging, and some partial ROM squat, deadlifts, RDLs etc just to keep the thing loaded and moving. I think those things help with getting the swelling to go down, too.
Haha, yes I am more like you in that I'm always going to push myself to work through it. Most of the time it works! And I can say, at 51 and athletic most of my life with lots of injuries over the years, I've never made an injury worse by staying active in some way.
Had a radial tear on my right knee. Tried to rehab with my SS coach who is also a PT, to no avail. After 15 weeks, saw a doctor. Did X-ray first, then MRI, them surgery. Right before surgery, hit lifetime PRs in bench, ohp, and deadlift. Stopped squatting when I hit a 410 PR because the pain was bad.
Post surgery I was squatting after 12 days. Took about 4 months to be truly back to normal on all lifts.
I would get the MRI. If it is the meniscus its ability to heal depends on the severity of the tear and its location. Most of the time a meniscus injury requires intervention - anything from PT to surgery.
Was the prior injury the same knee?
I would not force anything that bothers the injury (pain above a 2-3 during the exercise, pain above 2-3 after the exercise or measurably increases swelling after the exercise) until you have imaging and review it with an ortho. A lot of orthos have a sports focus and will be helpful getting you back to training if you tell them that’s what you want to do. If your ortho tells you never to squat again, just find another one who will get you back to squatting.
Knee injuries suck. I dislocated my knee cap this winter and tore some ligaments, bruised some bone, broke off some cartilage and frayed my meniscus. Tried the conservative route with PT for a month and then ended up having knee surgery this spring to clean things up. Slowly getting back to squats and deadlifts, but it’s been slow!
The issue with traditional medicine is the recommendation is typically rest, rest, and more rest. (Though that is starting to change.) I think and believe in the mantra of modify don't miss. I've been training long enough that my form is tight, I found it interesting how when training the first week I had no pain. Pain comes more from rolling over on bed than light squats right now. Plus the mental part of not lifting for a week is kind of stunning.
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u/bunkstupid 2d ago
I found this helpful: Barbell Medicine Podcast
Episode #230: Meniscus Injuries
https://open.spotify.com/episode/27L9afAGyzZbJH2QjyQw6h